56. Rune
Chapter 56
Rune
W e were nervous for our first shift back after everything that had happened with Luka. We had taken an extended leave of absence while we were getting back to normal and Sunny was going through her heat, but eventually, the time came to return to work.
The shift seemed to drag on forever. The moment it was finished, we all piled into a car and hightailed it home.
The house was quiet when we got back, so as a group, we went on the hunt for our omega.
“Sunshine?” Blaze asked as he walked into the nest, which just happened to be in chaos.
Luka was sitting in the center of the nest, playing with one of his stuffed fire trucks while Sunny whizzed around the room at a breakneck pace.
She was wearing nothing but one of my T-shirts, her hair piled on the top of her head. She looked beautifully rumpled and utterly ours.
“What’s happening?” Walker asked, watching her cautiously.
“Not right,” Sunny muttered, holding up a pillow. She tossed it to the side and started grabbing blankets. “Nothing is right!”
“Is she nesting?” I asked, turning to Walker.
“I don’t think so—she’s not due a heat for a while. Usually her nesting is less… intense.”
We watched for a few more minutes as she worked herself into a frenzy.
“Cher!” I raised my voice slightly, grabbing her attention. She stilled, looking at me with wide eyes. “What’s going on here?” I asked as I approached her cautiously.
Before I even got halfway across the room, she flung a pillow at my head. “You did this!” she growled, furiously grabbing a blanket and stomping around the room.
I raised my hands in surrender, looking back at my pack mates’ equally confused expressions.
“What did I do, Cher?”
She groaned, throwing another pillow.
Walker strode forward, gently grabbing her wrists as he looked her in the eye. “Talk to us, we don’t like seeing you upset.”
Sunny looked at us with a pout, tears filling the corners of her eyes. “I’m not upset!” she sobbed.
Walker’s face was just as baffled as I assumed mine was. Hearing her declare that she wasn't upset while sobbing was a bit of a weird experience.
“Talk to me,” Walker soothed.
“I don't know. I just had this overwhelming urge to nest, and it's way stronger than normal. This isn't my nesting urge that I usually have, and the last time I felt like this was when I got pregnant with Luka!”
We all stilled at those words.
“Sunshine… are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Blaze asked, a grin already plastered on his face, his earlier confusion gone. I, on the other hand, was a statue. I didn’t even want to breathe until she confirmed it.
“Sunny?” Walker prodded when she didn’t answer.
“Maybe? I was going to take a test, but I got distracted, and I really needed to sort this place out, so I started nesting, and, well…” She looked around at the carnage she had created. “I think it's safe to say I am.”
Holy fuck.
Our omega was pregnant.
Joy unlike anything I had ever felt before filled me. Sunny was pregnant. I had always been curious about how she’d looked pregnant, but she had no photos of her while carrying Luka.
“Fuck, yes!” Blaze shouted, pouncing on Sunny and pulling her in for a hug. “Best. News. Ever!”
“Are you happy?” I asked cautiously. Despite Blaze’s excitement, Sunny looked rather shell-shocked.
“I-I am. Everything just feels… a lot,” she admitted.
Walker, a smile on his face, scooped Sunny up in one fluid motion, stealing her from Blaze.
“Rune, grab our son. I think we need to have sofa snuggles, a movie marathon, and some good food. Sunny’s eating for two, after all!” he declared as he ran out of the room, Sunny in his arms.
Blaze and I beamed at each other.
This was real.
We were going to be dads again.
Turning to the little boy who had made me a parent the first time, happily playing on the bed, I picked him up, loving the way he immediately reached out to play with my facial hair and smile at me.
“Dada Roon!” he shouted.
“Hey, little man.” I smiled. “You’re going to be a big brother!”
Two hours later, we were curled up on the sofa, several takeout containers surrounding us. When Sunny had ordered the mountain of food, I had been tempted to try and convince her to eat something with a few more vegetables, but one glare from her made me shut up.
I would make us some delicious meals with plenty of nutritious ingredients at a later date. For now, what my omega wanted, she got.
When Walker’s phone started ringing, Sunny glowered at it, her look of distaste making us all laugh. “Tell them to go away!” she grumbled, snuggling deeper into Walker’s arms as he pulled out his phone.
“It’s Elliot. I’ll make it quick. It may be work.”
Sunny pouted. “I suppose that’s okay.”
I bit back a laugh as Walker accepted the call. Despite the phone not being on speaker, we could all hear exactly what Elliott was saying.
“Hey, Walker. Sorry to bother you, but I kind of have a unique question.”
“Go for it,” Walker said, smiling down at Sunny. “Also, I should probably give you a heads-up—you’ll be getting an email soon about taking over Station Sixteen’s calls.”
“What…”
I smirked at my pack mates. We had discussed this but hadn’t told Sunny yet. “We are taking the next two years to help train newbies at the academy. Next to no active calls.”
Sunny’s eyes widened and she sat up straighter.
“Why?”
I grinned. “Our family is growing, and we need to be home more. Once the little ones are a bit older, we can reevaluate running into fires.”
Elliot chuckled. “Good for you, man. I’ll happily step in.”
“What was your question?”
“Your mate stayed at the firehouse for several months, didn't she?”
“She did…” Walker trailed off, his face concerned. Elliot wasn’t the kind to report that, but why was he bringing it up now?
A sigh came through the phone. “Look, there was a fire at a local animal rescue—Thankfully no one was hurt and all the animals are safe. We pulled out an omega, and I’m pretty sure she's my scent match. Only, she's suffering from smoke inhalation and can't smell anything, and she has nowhere to go…”
I couldn't stop my smirk. Cool-and-collected Elliot seemed to be in quite the predicament.
Wait, he said animal shelter? Did he mean Melody’s place?
“And you're considering having her stay at Station Seventeen?” Walker asked, grinning down at Sunny, who was covering her mouth and looking at him with utter glee.
“I think I have to.”
“Then, do it.” Walker shrugged, looking down at Sunny, at our omega, who had completed our pack and added so much to our lives. “It worked out pretty fantastic for us.”